10 Sure Signs That You Are a Writer

Hey, y’all! So, I have been blogging for a few months now, and I have also been working on my debut novel (which I will expound on more later, but feel free to comment or contact me if you would like to know more about it) for about….9 years? and I have had a lot of friends ask me,

“How do you know if you’re a writer?”

So, to hopefully answer this question, I thought it would be fun to do a short post of 10 ways YOU can easily tell that YOU are a writer.

Without any further ado, let’s get into it!

1.) You can’t sleep because you are thinking of your story.I have run into this a ton over the past month or so. I keep rerunning scenes through my mind, reconstructing characters, restructuring their personalities, reordering events, etc. I have been kept awake past midnight some nights just thinking about my characters.

2.) You wake up out of the blue with a great idea and have to write it down pronto.This happened to me for the first time recently. I literally jumped out of bed half an hour before my alarm went off just to jot something down for my book before jumping back in bed just to go to sleep for another ten minutes.

3.) You are completely drained after writing a part of your story.I finished writing a couple thousand words one night and took a nap right afterwards. Now, I am not a big napper and I usually cannot fall asleep right away, but y’all! writing is hard work.

4.) You laugh, cry, feel depressed, and bounce off the walls as you are writing.I feel like so many people underestimate the emotional instability of writers. I feel as though so many people think writers “just sit and think and write”. Y’all, it’s a painful and extremely emotional roller-coaster. I have been in a constant friendship with my main character for the past 9 years as she has grown in my mind, and when I write about her fears, her failures, her cares, her loves, her hates every fiber of me resonates with every ounce of her emotion.

5.) You forget that anything else but your book exists.I fell into this one a couple weeks ago, when I mentioned to my folks that I would be writing my book on the drive up north. And they very wisely proceeded to remind me that vacation is for time with family. And I agree. Only, I hadn’t noticed how much my characters had become family to me.

6.) Your Friday night looks like a computer screen or notepad.While all your friends go to the beach or hang at the local church gathering or party, you are at home with your nose in your computer or notepad while you write, research, and edit. And you love it.

7.) You carry a notepad with you.I started doing this recently. And golly, is it handy! I find the best source to draw from for a book is experience – I see things almost daily that I would love to include in my book, so now I can jot it all down.

8.) You actually take time to research for your book.I am writing a historical fiction time-travel novel, and needless to say, historical accuracy is key. I should also mention that I despise research with a burning passion. But for my book? Anything…

9.) You are going crazy trying to create your pen name even though your novel isn’t finished.I realize a lot of folks would disagree with pen names or at least not want one, but the more I research, the more I realize how useful and safe a pen name would be. And y’all, I am going crazy trying to create one.

10.) You spend your free time researching copyright laws and publicity.I have finally begun this arduous task. And every. minute. counts. The closer I get to finishing my book, the more nervous I am about it’s publication, and I have begun to worry incessantly about copyrights and covers in order to make sure I have chosen the best options for my novel in order to ensure its safety upon its debut.

These are just a few ways to tell if you are a writer, but here are many, many more!

Comment below if you have experienced any of these symptoms!
If you are a writer like me, comment below and
let me know how accurate I was!

Thank you! Absolutely! So, I have found that brainstorming random things on a scrap piece of paper helps to get extra, distracting thoughts out of your head, and sometimes even gives you random ideas that may be fodder for deeper thought. However, if you are the opposite kind of person, I would get up and walk around, maybe go outside, go shopping, go out with friends, etc. to clear your mind maybe you will witness something inspiring in real life to write about. Look for the little things (child’s kindness, funny animal, hilarious comment from a stranger, others’ facial expressions and physical attributes/habits/mannerisms. Basically, do a quick social study and find inspiration around you. I have also completely set aside my writing for days at a time on purpose in order to force myself to focus on other things, and that usually does the trick because your mind will be super fresh. Have you tried any of this before?

1) Why do all my best ideas come at night…? (Yes, I feel that symptom lol)
2) Again, best ideas come at night 😛 Kinda annoying
3) Actually, not really, I just feel empty. But probably pretty close to the same thing XD
4) My family can testify
5) Wait, are you suggesting other stuff exists?!
6) Friday nights? Check. Literally every other night? Check.
7) I go above and beyond: TWO notebooks! 😀
8) That’s a more recent development. Actually, it’s more I ask people questions and get answers from them. One of my top suppliers of information is actually a mutual friend of ours.
9) Pfft, nope! I’ve already created, like, 100, so I’m good 😀
10) That idea had never occurred to me, but now it’s going to be true lol

Hehe alright well, I would post more if inspiration would hit me more often. 😜 have a wide range of style – something casual that is unique enough to stand out but simple enough to be remembered – I am a fan of most Bible names. 😊
Though, i think it would be better if we discussed pen names privately so that my readers will have a bit of a surprise when it is revealed.🙈

Inspiration doesn’t hit you; you hit inspiration. 🙂 (Not-so-wise-words of the Ant in the Mirror lol)
Alright, cool, I’ll work on a list and share it next time we meet! 😀 Although this’ll be a challenge, so I may only have 1 or 2 by then lol

Hahah struggles of Church friends: “I’ll have some for you next time I see u, but that’s only in a few days so don’t ACTUALLY expect much” LOL 😂But 1 or 2 is better than what I have so far so that will be awesome! Thank you!! 😊